Latin American Studies Association

Last updated
Latin American Studies Association
AbbreviationLASA
Formation1966
Type Learned Society
Headquarters Pittsburgh, United States
Website lasa.international.pitt.edu

The Latin American Studies Association (LASA) is the largest association for scholars of Latin American studies. Founded in 1966, [1] it has over 12,000 members, 45 percent of whom reside outside the United States (36 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean), LASA brings together experts on Latin America from all disciplines and diverse occupational endeavors, across the globe. [2]

Contents

History

LASA was founded in 1966 following a meeting sponsored by the Joint Committee on Latin American Studies (composed of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), held at the Hispanic Foundation (now the Hispanic Division) of the Library of Congress, May 7, 1966. LASA's constitution and bylaws were drafted and on May 12, 1966 it was incorporated in Washington, DC as a legal, tax exempt organization, "non-profit professional body created by scholarly area specialists to meet their particular and growing needs." [3] The incorporation of the LASA was the culmination of a long process to create such an organization after the failure of a previous attempt. In April 1958, Howard F. Cline, Director of the Hispanic Foundation of the Library of Congress (1952–71) and the ACLS organized a conference to explore the creation of a coordinating body for Latin American area studies. In 1959, the ACLS and the SSRC formed the Joint Committee on Latin American Studies, which ultimately led to the founding of LASA as an organization. [4] The Constitution and Bylaws of the Latin American Studies Association were published in the Latin American Research Review in 1966. [5] LASA's first President after its 1966 incorporation was political scientist Kalman Silvert, who published extensively on Latin American political systems and conflict. [6] LASA honors Silvert's memory with a major prize.

Mission

LASA's mission is "to foster intellectual discussion, research, and teaching on Latin America, the Caribbean, and its people throughout the Americas, promote the interests of its diverse membership, and encourage civic engagement through network building and public debate." [2]

LASA Congresses

Every year, specialists on Latin America gather at the LASA International Congress. Featuring over 900 sessions, including plenary sessions and informal meetings, the Congress is the world's premier forum for expert discussion on Latin America and the Caribbean. The theme of the 2019 Boston LASA Congress is “Justice and Inclusion"

Regional Subgroups

At the 1992 LASA Congress in Los Angeles, scholars specializing in Brazil founded the Brazilian Studies Association (BRASA). [7] BRASA now holds independent biennial meetings. [7]

LASA Presidents

Awards

Publishing

LASA publishes an interdisciplinary scholarly journal, the Latin American Research Review (LARR) founded in 1965 by a consortium of U.S. universities. [17] LARR is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes original research and surveys of current research on Latin America and the Caribbean.

LASA has established a publishing house, the Latin American Research Commons, that publishes LARR and other books and journals. [18]

Related Research Articles

Area studies are interdisciplinary fields of research and scholarship pertaining to particular geographical, national/federal, or cultural regions. The term exists primarily as a general description for what are, in the practice of scholarship, many heterogeneous fields of research, encompassing both the social sciences and the humanities. Typical area study programs involve international relations, strategic studies, history, political science, political economy, cultural studies, languages, geography, literature, and other related disciplines. In contrast to cultural studies, area studies often include diaspora and emigration from the area.

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), founded in 1919, is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a range of opportunities for scholars in the humanities and related social sciences at all career stages, from graduate students to distinguished professors to independent scholars, working with a number of disciplines and methodologies in the U.S. and abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Science Research Council</span> American nonprofit social science research organization

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it today maintains a headquarters in Brooklyn Heights with a staff of approximately 70, and small regional offices in other parts of the world.

Latin American studies (LAS) is an academic and research field associated with the study of Latin America. The interdisciplinary study is a subfield of area studies, and can be composed of numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, history, international relations, political science, geography, gender studies, and literature.

Clarence Henry Haring was an important historian of Latin America and a pioneer in initiating the study of Latin American colonial institutions among scholars in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guillermo O'Donnell</span> Argentine political scientist (1936–2011)

Guillermo Alberto O'Donnell Ure was a prominent Argentine political scientist, specializing in comparative politics, who spent most of his career working in Argentina and the United States, and who made lasting contributions to theorizing on authoritarianism and democratization, democracy and the state, and the politics of Latin America. His brother is Pacho O'Donnell.

Jean Franco is a British-born academic and literary critic known for her pioneering work on Latin American literature. Educated at Manchester and London, she has taught at London, Essex, and Stanford, and is currently professor emerita at Columbia University.

Federico Guillermo Gil was a political scientist and founder and president of the Latin American Studies Association and a recipient of its Kalman Silvert Award for outstanding lifetime service to Latin American studies.

The Kalman H. Silvert Award was created in honor of the first president of the Latin American Studies Association. Given every 18 months, the Silvert Award "recognizes senior members of the profession who have made distinguished lifetime contributions to the study of Latin America."

Lewis Hanke (1905–1993) was an American historian of colonial Latin America, and is best known for his writings on the Spanish conquest of Latin America. Hanke, along with two others, Irving A. Leonard and John T. Lanning, presented a revisionist narrative of colonial history that focused on the role of Bartolomé de las Casas, who famously advocated for the rights of Native Americans, and searched for just resolutions to the tensions between the conquistadores and the natives during the colonial period of Spanish rule. Hanke's writings documented Las Casas' work as a political activist, historian, political theorist, and anthropologist. His scholarship also uncovered evidence to support Hanke's claim that Las Casas did not act as the sole voice of conscience during the colonial era, but actually constituted the head of what was a larger reform movement by a number of Spanish colonists to prevent "the destruction of the Indies.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudia Paz y Paz</span>

Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey is a criminal law specialist, scholar, judge and litigator who has worked for over 18 years to strengthen the justice system in Guatemala. As the first female Attorney General of Guatemala, from 2010 to 2014, she made unprecedented strides in the prosecution of organized crime, corruption and human rights violations.

The Latin American Research Review is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on Latin America and the Caribbean. It was established in 1965 by the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) and is published by LASA's publishing arm, the Latin America Research Commons. The editor-in-chief is Aníbal Pérez Liñán. Articles are published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The journal articles are published only electronically, in an Open Access format.

Conference on Latin American History, (CLAH), founded in 1926, is the professional organization of Latin American historians affiliated with the American Historical Association. It publishes the journal The Hispanic American Historical Review.

<i>The Hispanic American Historical Review</i> Academic journal

The Hispanic American Historical Review is a quarterly, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal of Latin American history, the official publication of the Conference on Latin American History, the professional organization of Latin American historians. Founded in 1916, HAHR is the oldest journal of Latin American history, and, since 1926, published by Duke University Press. On July 1, 2017 editorial responsibility shifted from Duke University to Penn State for the 2017-2022 term.

Kalman H. Silvert, was an author of works on democracy in Latin America, the first president of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), and professor of political science at Tulane University, NYU, and other universities. The Kalman Silvert Award is LASA's highest award.

Howard F. Cline was an American government official and historian, specialising in Latin America. Cline served as Director of the Hispanic Foundation at the Library of Congress from 1952 until his death in June 1971. He was one of the founders of the Latin American Studies Association. He was also active in the Conference on Latin American History (CLAH), the professional organization of Latin American historians, which he chaired in 1964. He is still highly regarded as a scholar "devoted to and effective in the promotion of Latin American studies in the United States."

Helen M. Icken Safa was an anthropologist, feminist scholar and academic. Safa focused her work on Latin American studies and she served as president of the Latin American Studies Association from 1983 to 1985. She taught anthropology and Latin American studies at Syracuse University, Rutgers University and the University of Florida. She received the Silvert Award, the highest honor given by the Latin American Studies Association.

Marysa Navarro Aranguren is a Spanish-American historian specializing in the history of feminism, the history of Latin American women, and the history of Latin America. She occupies a prominent role as a promoter and activist in the areas of women's studies and women's history. Navarro is an expert on the figure of Eva Perón, having published her biography, and having written articles about her. Navarro lives in the United States, and has dual citizenship, Spanish and U.S.

Carmen Diana Deere is an American feminist economist who is an expert on land policy and agrarian reform, rural social movements, and gender in Latin American development. She has conducted extensive research on access to land, economic autonomy of rural women, and property rights in Latin America. Deere's research and work, often carried out with Magdalena León de Leal, have contributed to promoting the changes that have taken place since 1980 in the vast majority of countries in Latin America with respect to the reform of land laws, civil codes, and family matters, as well as the approval of new legislation that recognizes the equal rights of women and men, including their property rights. Deere is Professor Emeritus of Latin American studies and Food Resources Economics at the University of Florida and Professor Emeritus of FLACSO-Ecuador. She was honored with the Silvert Award in 2018.

Gilbert M. Joseph is an American scholar and writer. He received his doctorate from Yale University in Latin American history in 1978, where he is presently Farnam Professor Emeritus of History and International Studies. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Sturgis Leavitt Best Article Prize (1981,1987), the Tanner Award for Inspirational Teaching of Undergraduates at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1980), and the Harwood F.Byrnes/Richard B. Sewall Prize for Teaching excellence at Yale University (2017). Joseph presided over the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) from 2015-2016.

References

  1. ↑ American Council of Learned Societies, Latin American Studies Association
  2. 1 2 LASA, About LASA
  3. ↑ Howard F. Cline, "The Latin American Studies Association: A Summary Survey with Appendix," Latin American Research Review, Vol. 2. No. 1 (Autumn 1966), pp. 57-79.
  4. ↑ Cline, ibid.
  5. ↑ Howard F. Cline, "Latin American Studies Association: A Summary Survey with Appendix," Latin American Research Review, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Autumn 1966) pp. 75-79.
  6. ↑ Kalman H. Silvert, obituary. New York Times, June 17, 1976, p. 38.
  7. 1 2 "BRASA History – BRASA: Brazilian Studies Association" . Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  8. ↑ "LASA Membership of Jorge Dominguez Revoked" LASA Forum accessed 30 July 2020
  9. ↑ LASA
  10. ↑ LASA
  11. ↑ [LASA,
  12. ↑ LASA
  13. ↑ LASA
  14. ↑ LASA
  15. ↑ LASA, Latin American International Relations Book Award
  16. ↑ "LASA2020 / Améfrica Ladina: Vinculando Mundos y Saberes, Tejiendo Esperanzas".
  17. ↑ "LARR". Latin American Studies Association. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Latin America Research Commons" . Retrieved 2021-04-24.
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